Welcome Home, Helga Pataki
by Invader Hog
Summary: Updated! Arnold strikes a deal with Phoebe.
1. Six Years Ago

**Welcome Home, Helga Pataki**

**Summary: At the end of the fifth grade, Helga moved to Italy with her family. Six years have passed and she is coming back to join her fellow PS 118 peers, but six years can really change a person.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold!**

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**Chapter One**

**Six Years Ago…**

Helga was surprised when her father told her the news. He had gotten a huge contract to move his business overseas and it was a huge opportunity for him. His only worry was that he would be away from home too much. So after a long discussion with his wife, Helga's father and mother decided that moving overseas was the best option. They told Helga and she took it better than they thought she would. The thought of going overseas, any chance to try and forget Arnold was a good excuse for Helga. She was getting a little tired of having her heart broken over and over again.

So when the time came, she told Phoebe. Phoebe took it far worse than Helga had. Soon the entire school knew that she was leaving and this included a much-concerned Arnold. He was not happy with the idea of losing one of his oldest friends but there was no way of helping it. The fifth grade was almost over and when the summer began, the entire family would be moving to Italy.

Helga promised everyone she would write every chance she got and with a lot more goodbyes than she was expecting, she boarded the plane to disappear from the world of Hillwood and PS 118 for six long years.

The time apart made everyone miss her even more than they were all expecting. The next three years were spent in middle school, all of the students of PS 118 moving up together. All, including one football-headed Arnold, missed her presence. Phoebe heard from Helga every few months and often showed everyone the post cards she would send. Helga was being home schooled since the American school system was far more advanced than the Italians. She was doing great every time she wrote, talking about how wonderful it looked there, but she would often talk about how she missed Hillwood. By the time the kids were freshmen, e-mails became more often and Helga continued to tell everyone what they were missing out on every few months. Then, for the entire sophomore year, Phoebe heard almost nothing from Helga. This was a concern mostly because it had not happened before. Then suddenly during the summer before the students' junior year of high school Helga sent a letter telling everyone that she was coming back for the beginning of their junior year. This was cause for celebration and everyone was ready for her to come back home. Most of the years had been quiet because she wasn't there yelling at anyone or pushing anyone down. Everyone had grown up and matured a little, but the idea that they had of Helga hadn't really changed at all.

There was even talk that she probably didn't look any different than she had when she was in fifth grade. Gerald was convinced that she probably still had the unibrow and Harold had a bet going that she had gained a hundred pounds since she went to Italy. Most of the kids joked about how she probably looked worse than when she left. Arnold wasn't too convinced, but his idea of the teenage Helga wasn't much different from the ten-year-old Helga. He had a little hope that she had changed. He had changed a lot since he had hit his growth spirt. He had lost his football head and had more of a square head now, had gained three feet and was fairly well built after deciding to join the high school tennis team. Gerald, Harold and most of the other guys had been like him, gaining a lot of height while the girls gained something else entirely.

So the thought that Helga had changed made perfect sense to everyone involved. But the change that they would see was nothing like they imagined…

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**- I have not seen this show in years. Gawd, I used to love it so much as a kid, mostly because I felt like Helga sometimes, having to find ways to get attention. Anyway, I was looking around Youtube and saw a mv for this show and fell back in love with it. Oh the nineties. You need to just stay right where you are. Anywho, wrote this because I always had the thought that one day Helga and Arnold would in fact be together.**

**Invader Hog**


	2. This Morning During English

**Welcome Home, Helga Pataki**

**Summary: At the end of the fifth grade, Helga moved to Italy with her family. Six years have passed and she is coming back to join her fellow PS 118 peers, but six years can really change a person.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold!**

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**Chapter Two**

**This Morning in English…**

Arnold took his normal spot in the middle of the classroom, checking his cell phone for the time. The other students were all chattering loudly, about the arrival of an old legend. The kids that hadn't been in the same classes as Helga, still remembered her as the childhood bully. Her name would probably live forever in infamy. Arnold looked over at the seat next to him, Gerald currently with head on the desk and his ipod blaring in his ears. He had gotten lazier it seemed as the years went by. Arnold poked him in the face and he sat up suddenly, looking around.

"What?"

"Mrs. Gibson is going to catch you sleeping when she comes in. I'm doing you a service by warning you," Arnold said, taking a last look at his cell phone before putting it into his pocket and sitting back in his chair.

"Doing me a service? Please. She never catches me," Gerald retorted and pulled the earphones out of his ears. Phoebe came into the classroom, holding tightly onto her backpack. She came up to Gerald.

"Hey, Gerald," she said, blushing a little and waving. It was the first day back and already everything was getting awkward. During the past two years, Phoebe and Gerald had come really close to going out together and it never happened. Arnold wouldn't exactly say his own track record was the best, but it was ridiculous. The pair had liked each other for the longest time and still they weren't together.

"Hey, Phoebe," Gerald said, sitting up quickly. She smiled at him and he smiled back but before anyone could say anything, the bell rang and the beginning of their junior year started. She scrambled to find her seat in the back, watching as the woman they had for English the year before walked into the door. The sophomore and juniors happened to be taught by the same teacher, so she already knew what everyone was capable of. Arnold remembered the morning that Harold had come in, dressed almost like someone from the Sharks or the Jets, and she gave him hell for it.

She was a thirty-five-year-old with a ten-year-old kid and didn't take any nonsense from anyone. She favored none but was fair in most cases. It would be surprising if she liked any of her students more than she liked to teach the class. English was not her forte, and she had been stuck doing it for three years in a row because of the lack of funding. She was original a geometry teacher, which was why she disliked her English students most of all.

"Well, we're back here again," she said, looking at everyone. The only students not present were Stinky and Sid, both of whom were forced to repeat sophomore English and Science because they had failing grades. Everyone else that was there that had known Helga were all sitting in anticipation for her arrival. It was only understood that since she was transferring, she was probably going to be late, but the suspense of seeing her again was too much. Harold wrote a note to Alexander, a kid who had been in the same Biology class with him last year, that he had a bet going that Helga had gained two hundred pounds by now. Before the class could start, the door opened and the principal, Ms. Nadia White walked in. She whispered something to Mrs. Gibson and she nodded, looking at the hallway. There seemed to be a moment of silent hesitation as everyone waited. Then in a harsh voice Mrs. Gibson made everyone sit up a little straighter in their chairs.

"Class! This is a transfer student, all the way from Italy. Miss Helga Pataki," she said, and no one expected what happened next. A girl, sixteen years old, with long thin legs, a short pink dress, long blonde hair tied back in two ponytails and a large pink bow walked in. Like in a movie, her entrance seemed to be slowed down by the universe so Arnold could take in every inch of her. She had grown a good three feet too, and hadn't gained a hundred pounds, but looked extremely thin. Her upper area, since Arnold refused to actually say the word or it would feel weird in his own head, was a lot bigger than he was expecting and he found himself staring.

Continuing in her slow motion universe, Helga Pataki slowly raised a hand and flicked a long blonde ponytail over her shoulder and looked around, her bangs just falling down before reaching her eyebrows, which were now trimmed, no unibrow. It was like she had been completely reborn. Then again, puberty tended to do that to some people. She looked around the classroom and suddenly a dark and annoyed look came over her face.

"What are you staring at?!" she yelled, making Hank in the front row almost jump. Arnold and the rest of the class snapped out of their shock and awe. Helga seemed to have had the same personality, as before, just she looked so different on the outside. She looked at Ms. Gibson and instead of looking angry, she looked impressed. She didn't have a whole lot of students who yelled at the other kids. Helga looked around and spotted the empty seat behind Arnold and walked towards him, and Arnold only looked down to try and hide his face from her. She was far too pretty now for him to even think of talking to her.

She seemed to have recognized some of the people, and had waved at Phoebe, but hadn't even noticed Arnold. Then again, she was probably expecting him to still have that football head. He continued to look down and away as she sat down, crossing her legs and Greg next to her found himself able to see a little too far up her dress than she probably would have liked. Of course Helga didn't seem to notice the attention at all.

It dawned on Arnold that it was probably because she was so used to herself. She had gone through her entire change and since everyone still had the image of a ten-year-old Helga fixed in his or her mind, a different Helga was almost impossible to imagine. It also dawned on Arnold that looking at her family; it was only obvious she would have gone through a major change by the time she was sixteen. Her sister and mother had been gorgeous; it was only a natural thing that eventually, the ugly duckling would turn into the beautiful swan.

"Arnold! Take off that hat! How many times do I have to tell you?" Ms. Gibson barked suddenly, making Arnold jumped a little. He had been trying not to attract a whole lot of Helga's attention on him. He looked up a little to see that Ms. Gibson was serious and reaching up, he grabbed his New York Yankees hat and placed it on his backpack lying on the floor next to him. His spiky blond hair had been short for the past two years, so Helga almost didn't recognize him. She crossed her arms, much to the delight of Greg next to her, and titled her head a little to try and get a better look at Arnold.

However, the class soon went underway and the entire time all he could think about was how he wanted to just disappear. It was strange that this was even crossing his mind, but it was true.

Helga Pataki was out of his league.

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**- This chapter brought to you by the letter awesome. Wrote this in a matter of fifteen awesome minutes. Two of the names are jokes for myself. Ms. Gibson was my fifth grade teacher and since that was about the time I watched the show, thought it fit. Ms. Nadia White, their principal, is named after a friend of mine. Most of the stories I usually write have all the characters already named, so it was nice to create new ones. Drew my own version of what I think Helga would look like as a teenager and the way I draw, she looks nothing like the cartoon.**

**Invader Hog**


	3. Today During Lunch

**Welcome Home, Helga Pataki**

**Summary: At the end of the fifth grade, Helga moved to Italy with her family. Six years have passed and she is coming back to join her fellow PS 118 peers, but six years can really change a person.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold!**

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**Chapter Three**

**Today During Lunch…**

It took no time for everyone at PS 129 to find out about Helga's miracle transformation. She had found Phoebe again and the two were catching up during the lunch hour when tons of boys came to just look at her. Arnold and Gerald stayed as far away as possible, mostly because they wanted to discuss the change amongst themselves. Sid and Stinky had seen Helga and joined in the conversation soon after Arnold began his jello.

"I need to go to Italy!" Sid cried, sitting on Arnold's right side, trying to see Helga over the crowd.

"I heard that she is now officially the most popular girl in school and most likely to kick your ass," Stinky said, pulling out a notebook with the stats.

"What happened to that girl to make her look so good now?" Gerald asked, looking over to spot Phoebe returning to her seat next to Helga. Helga's mood hadn't really changed and she still seemed like her own self. She just happened to look really hot now.

"Aliens," Sid said, nodding his head and looking at Arnold, "What's wrong with you? Why aren't you talking?" Arnold looked up from his tray.

"Huh? Oh, no real reason…"

"Do you think she even knows how hot she is?" Stinky asked suddenly, pulling out his camera phone to take a picture of Helga while she was standing up to throw something away. The chatter all over the cafeteria was nothing but Helga and her new look. This talk was beginning to really eat at Arnold. The girl he had remembered was the one who swore that she loved him and that she would always love him. Now she was gorgeous and he was basically the same.

"Gerald?" Arnold suddenly asked to get the attention away from Helga, "When are you going to ask Phoebe out?"

"Yeah, man, you two should have already hooked up by now," Sid said, looking at Gerald as Stinky posted the picture of Helga on his Myspace.

"I don't know, I just don't see me and her really getting together," Gerald lied quickly, but Arnold wasn't going to buy it. He knew his best friend way too well and there was a whole other reason why he wouldn't ask Phoebe out, but he would get on his case after school, not in the middle of lunch. Just as the boys were about to switch topics, Arnold decided to excuse himself to finish his lunch in the classroom to avoid Helga coming and bothering him. It looked like she was because just before he left she took a sudden interest in the table that they had been sitting at. The other students that had become her new entourage followed her as she stood up and threw away the rest of her lunch and Phoebe followed her over to where Gerald was sitting. Arnold had escaped just in time, watching Gerald just notice he had gone missing.

"What's up, loser?" Helga asked, sitting on the edge of the table, and crossing her arms. Almost every teenage boy seemed to faint at this blessed sight and Gerald just blinked at her.

"Nothing much, why?" he asked, taking a quick glance at Phoebe to see she was texting on her cell.

"Where'd the old football head go?" Helga demanded, but Gerald was innocent in his responding that he had no idea, Arnold had just left. She sighed a little, annoyed that he had just taken off. But this didn't last long since the bell rang anyway and everyone began to depart for the next class. Helga watched as Gerald escaped quickly, and looked at Phoebe.

"Oh my gawd," she said, looking at her friend.

"What?"

"You guys really aren't together?"

"W-Who isn't together?" she asked, not able to get away with playing dumb. Helga grabbed the crook of her arm and guided her down the hall.

"Phoebe, we've been friends since we were five. I know you better than you even know yourself and I can tell when you are lying to be pretty easily. Have you two even gone on a date at least once?"

"No," Phoebe replied, beginning to become depressed, "I've tried to talk to him, but I totally freeze up when it comes to actually saying anything."

"What about him? Has he shown any signs that he was interested?"

"N-Not that I really noticed…" Phoebe admitted, making her feel even worse. The two had reached their History class, and Phoebe slumped down in her desk. Helga leaned against the desk and cross her arms in her general posture, thinking. Arnold had managed to walk into the door just in time to spot her and back out of the doorway before she saw him.

"You should just ask him out," Helga declared, looking at Phoebe. She looked at her, surprised.

"A-Ask him out?"

"Why should you wait for that idiot to get off his ass? Take initiative, Phoebe! That's what I did when I went out with Paul," Helga said, nodding her head and suddenly all of the girls in the classroom gathered at the sound of the name.

"You have a boyfriend?!"

"What's his name again?"

"How long have you been dating?"

"We're not. We did like last year during the summer when I was in Paris, but nothing really happened. The guy was always randomly talking in French, it got hard to understand what he was saying, so I dumped him."

Arnold did not feel any better with this news. Not only had she already been dating, but she had been throwing them away. It seemed that Helga's childhood crush had subsided as she grew up. Phoebe noticed Arnold standing in the hall and quickly got Helga's attention.

"What about Arnold?"

"What about Arnold?" Helga repeated, looking at her friend.

"Don't you still like him?"

"Sure," Helga replied simply, looking down at her. Phoebe looked over to see a very dissatisfied look from Arnold. The answer was a little disappointing for everyone. Everyone remembered the big shock when Helga had let it slip before she left that she had liked Arnold for a long time and then suddenly jumped on the plane and took off. Actually, now that Arnold thought about it, he had never even gotten an e-mail from Helga during the entire time she was gone.

"He's a good friend," Helga said, almost like she was correcting herself. The other girls just nodded and Phoebe saw the dejected Arnold quickly slip into his seat near the window, trying to disappear again. Things really must have changed. The first day of junior year really wasn't looking up for him at all.

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- **I was surprised by all the views I got in like three days. Thanks guys! Hope you continue to enjoy the story. I want to make Arnold sweat a little, the loser deserves it after missing out on Helga's obvious feelings throughout the entire show. Lol. Anywho, hope you continue to keep reading. Thanks for reading!**

**Invader Hog**


	4. This Afternoon After School

**Welcome Home, Helga Pataki**

**Summary: At the end of the fifth grade, Helga moved to Italy with her family. Six years have passed and she is coming back to join her fellow PS 118 peers, but six years can really change a person.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold!**

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**Chapter Four**

**This Afternoon After School…**

Arnold's feelings hit an all-time low when the news of Helga's return only seemed to get worse. Sid reported to him that she had already been approached by Bud, the captain of the football team. The conversation between them ended with Helga punching him in the arm and walking off, but Bud liked it and is determined that by the first game of the year he was going to have Helga as his girlfriend. Gerald had similar news to report when they were beginning to skateboard home together.

"She has only been back one day and she's already been asked out by like fifteen guys," Gerald said, stopping at an intersection and Arnold rolled up to him. "Of course, she yelled at them to leave her alone and punched two of them in face when they kept following her around."

"Her looks completely changed but it seems like her personality is still in tact," Arnold replied, smiling a little, the first smile of the day.

"What about you man? You ditched me at lunch and I totally got the brush off from her. Practically every girl in my gym class asked me why you two weren't together already," Gerald said as they rolled through the intersection towards the boarding house.

"Every time I see her I totally freeze up. I don't really know what I was expecting, dude. I guess six years really does change a person," Arnold said, sighing a little as they reached the boarding house. Gerald and Arnold parted as Arnold climbed the stairs to the front door. Just as he was reaching up to grab the doorknob someone called his name.

"Hey, Arnold!"

The familiar sound of the way she said it brought back the memories he thought he had long forgotten. He turned around to see Helga Pataki sitting across the street in a red Mustang, waving at him. He descended the stairs, leaving his skateboard on the stoop.

"N-Nice car," he stuttered, looking at the car, "Really c-cool."

"Daddy bought it for me while we were in Paris," Helga replied, looking at the steering wheel. "After beepers were beginning to become extinct, Daddy decided to take up with the cell phone contracts and now were doing better than ever."

"I-I can see that," he managed and this time she looked annoyed. She was not getting very satisfying replies from him and four word answers were getting a little annoying.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride," she said, unlocking the passenger side door. He hesitated, but with another glare from Helga, meaning that she was serious, he nodded and hurried to the other side. Helga took off once he was strapped in and he looked sideways at her.

"So… what's going on?" he asked, not sure what else to really say.

"You lost your head," Helga said, getting on the highway.

"Huh?"

"Your head. Now I can't call you football head," she replied, stealing a glance before looking at the road.

"Yeah… I got a new one by the time eighth grade was over," Arnold replied, getting a little chuckle out of Helga. Even her laugh was different, it seemed. He looked out of his window to try and stop himself from staring at her. Her dress seemed to get shorter when she was sitting and her long legs were well within his per-view.

"You know, I was really surprised to see that this place hadn't changed too terribly much. I mean, there are some places that have closed up, and some new buildings I had never seen before, but not really anything too dramatic," Helga said, now making small talk as they pulled off into a nicer neighborhood, the place Helga now resided in. Her old building had been torn down three years before to make room for a high rise.

"Why did you come back?" Arnold asked suddenly and Helga pulled in front of a really nice house and parked.

"Dad's business is doing great and Olga's already married and living in Berlin, Mom was getting tired of Europe, so we all decided to just move back for the rest of my schooling," Helga said simply, opening the door and stepping out. Arnold followed in silence and looked at the huge new house. It was a part of a development that had started four years before and he had seen the house appearing after two of those four. The houses were nice and really big. Helga walked up to the front door and opened it.

"I'm home!" she called as she entered the front door and Arnold looked at a two story high ceiling and tons of boxes.

"Welcome home, sweetie!" came a call, Mrs. Pataki in the kitchen, cooking. The entire house seemed half unpacked, since there was furniture still covered, boxes in every room and half of them open and their contents everywhere else.

"Arnold's here!" Helga called, dropping her backpack and purse on a half covered table and walked towards the kitchen.

"Arnold?" her mother called back and her head appeared in a doorway. "Oh! Arnold! You've gotten so big!"

She hadn't really changed in six years, and Arnold noted it to her when she came and hugged him rather tightly.

"Oh, you are so handsome now! And a junior like our Helga too, I remember you so well," she replied, smiling at Arnold and offering him a drink, Helga started to head up the large spiraling staircase.

"Come on, no-longer-football head," she said, climbing the stairs and Arnold followed in stunned silence. The house was immaculate, even with the boxes everywhere. A large hallway leads to every bedroom, a den and other smaller rooms, a few computers in one room with a couch and more boxes. Helga's room was down the hall. The entire room was covered in boxes; a large bed, a few things unpacked and her clothes pretty much everywhere.

"Sorry it's a mess, we just moved back the day before yesterday. I had to go to register yesterday, and Dad has been working at his new office later so he can get started, so we've been slowly making progress," Helga said, sitting down on her bed and pulling out her cell phone to check messages. She was already being bombarded by texts, no thanks to Gerald who had slipped her number to anyone who asked for three bucks a person.

"No, the house looks great," Arnold replied, looking nervous suddenly and leaning against the only spare wall in the house. Helga looked up and smiled at him. It was the first smile she had really given him in a long time. He made sure to remember what it looked like for future reference.

"Saw that you're still living at the boarding house," Helga said, sending a reply to Phoebe about what she should wear for going shopping.

"Yeah, we're still there…" Arnold said awkwardly, and soon the entire conversation seemed to drop as Helga replied to a few more texts without talking. This gave Arnold another chance to really take a long look at her. The little girl he knew was somewhere in there still, and a small part of him still wanted to know if she had still felt the way she had those six long years before. But he just shook off the silly thoughts and decided to just be a good of a friend as he could.

"Sorry about that," she said, tossing her cell phone on her pillow and looking up at him.

"No problem," he said, feeling his own phone vibrate in his pocket at that moment.

"I brought you here because I really want to know what's happened since I've been gone. Phoebe is pretty vague about things, so I thought you might be able to tell me better," Helga said, though Arnold was certain that wasn't really the only reason, but he said nothing. He found a chair and sat down, looking at her for a moment.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, everyone seemed to have changed a lot, so what happened after I left?"

"We had a pretty tough time. Harold was like the only bully again so he started having to straighten up. We all went to the same schools, and just grew up a little bit. Phoebe won a bunch of awards in middle and high school. Last year she got the Citizenship Award and I think she won the Decathalon twice in a row."

Helga listened, geniuenly interested in what she had missed out on. Being home schooled for so long, she missed being in a classroom and having friends who didn't have to be corrected on their English every once in a while.

"Gerald is the captain of the basketball team, so when basketball season comes up, he'll be playing a lot, and I am working on trying to become the captain of the tennis team. I got on Varsity at the end of freshman year, so I am going to try hard," Arnold said and she nodded.

"Awesome," she said, nodding a little, and looking at him with continued interest. He went into details about the dances they had attended, the football games, the tennis matches. Things that seemed pretty day-to-day were a blessing to hear. Helga had been to dozens of operas that she usually slept through, plays, cricket matches, a few other random sports, but nothing seemed to compare to being home. Arnold's insight to the school plays, the cheerleaders, the pep rallies were all so wonderful to hear. It was getting close to dinner when Arnold needed to start heading home.

Helga drove him home and both were silent the entire trip. Arnold had talked so much, he even surprised himself. He took a few glances over at Helga but said nothing at all. They stopped in front of his building and he stepped out of the car.

"See you at school tomorrow," he said, and she waved a little before taking off down the road again. He watched her Mustang disappear and turned to his front door. He walked into his loud house and found Grandpa Phil sitting in the dinning room with the other boarders. Six years had taken away a lot of the old tenants and brought in a whole new crowd.

Miss Emily, a southern belle who had moved to Hillwood three years before, was sitting at the table and chewing her food in silence while everyone else talked loudly. Arnold took the empty seat next to her and she gave him a little smile. Andy and Benji Walters were brothers who were always fighting about which movie star was the best and currently they were debating who had been the best John Connor in the Terminator movies. Abigail Hale was sitting with her husband, John Hale, at the other end of the table, feeding their baby, Kimberly, her dinner while she screamed and cried loudly. The other tenants, Mr. Burnhart, Miss Jamie, and Mr. Shaw were all talking loudly about how wonderful life was, or something of that general nature because they were talking over each other too much to really have much of a conversation going.

Arnold sat silently eating his dinner and Miss Emily looked at him.

"Sweetheart? Are you not feelin' well?" she asked, cutting up a slice of her ham delicately.

"Oh, I'm fine Miss Emily," he replied, smiling a little and fixing his hair under his hat. He smiled a little at her and she nodded her head, smiling back. She had always been really nice to him and often gave him advice when he needed it. Being a teenager with a crazy house like his, Arnold was glad to have at least one sane stable person to talk to.

He finished his food in silence and safely retreated to his room to think. His time with Helga had been so precious to him, and now he was regretting having to get home so quickly. They had been near each other all day but it didn't seem to be enough. Burying his head in his pillow, he fell asleep, the days events just too much to think about in one night.

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**- Long chapter. Really long. Oh wells. More random characters I created. Most are named after people I know, but I won't go through all of them. And I forgot to mention that the name for this fic is from the movie "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins." I had heard the name a while back, and it stuck in my mind. I had thought it was the title to an eighties movie, but turns out not-so-much. Oh wells... Thanks for reading!**

**Invader Hog**


	5. Tomorrow Morning During Breakfast

**Welcome Home, Helga Pataki**

**Summary: At the end of the fifth grade, Helga moved to Italy with her family. Six years have passed and she is coming back to join her fellow PS 118 peers, but six years can really change a person.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold!**

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**Chapter Five**

**Tomorrow Morning During Breakfast…**

Miss Emily was sitting in the dinning room, the only one eating her breakfast when Arnold walked downstairs, his hair a mess and half awake. He had been tossing and turning, waking up randomly during the night and he looked terrible. Miss Emily smiled at him when he walked in, but nearly dropped her spoon when she saw him.

"Oh, dear sweet Arnold, what on earth happened to you?" she asked, standing up and quickly setting a place for him next to her so he could explain everything. The night before had been a bad time, but it seemed that no one was around now to hear the story and so with little hesitation, he told Miss Emily about Helga. She had remembered him mentioning her before, but since Helga had been in Europe, he didn't really go into details about it. She listened intently as he finished his waffles she had made for him and nodded when he was done.

"My, my, darlin' you must be havin' a hard time with her bein' back, huh?"

"I mean, I thought that everything that had happened between us was just kid stuff. Now I don't know what to do. She's probably had tons of boyfriends and is already the most popular girl in school," he said, sighing and slamming his forehead on the table. Miss Emily smiled and giggled a little, thinking to herself that he looked so cute when he was frustrated.

"Arnold, darlin', you need to take initiative. I think it would be better for you if you just went up to Miss Helga and asked her if she will go on a date with you. If she accepts and you go on a harmless little date and everything goes well, then you can ask for another one. You arm making things far too complicated. If she wanted nothin' to do with you, she wouldn't have even bothered talking to you so much," she replied, patting his back as he sat up again.

"Take initiative?"

"Maybe that's what she wants you to do. Maybe she wants you to get your act together and just ask her out already," she replied, patting his back and standing up to put away her dishes. Arnold looked back at his empty plate and decided that Miss Emily's advice was probably the best.

"Take initiative…"

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Helga was sitting in front of her bathroom mirror, brushing her hair lightly and thinking about everything that had happened. She had come back to Hillwood, expecting to see everyone and catch up. Instead she was completely bombarded by boys asking her out and girls asking her what happened to her while she was in Europe. Nothing had happened, really, just that she lived there. When she asked her mother about it, she just replied that everyone was jealous at how pretty she had become. Helga began to think about it and went back to her room, looking through her dozens of boxes and found an old photo album. She looked between the mirror and her old picture and realized the big difference. She had never really thought about it before but now she saw what everyone else did.

Helga continued to brush her hair when her mother called her down for breakfast. She finished getting ready and wandered down the stairs to see her parents sitting around the table, even more boxes opened and their contents spilled everywhere.

"Morning Helga," Bud said, kissing his daughter's forehead when she sat down.

"Morning Daddy," she replied, her mother placing a plate in front of her.

"Helga, sweetie, can you pick up some milk on the way home today? I am going to be unpacking the living room and then all of upstairs," her mother said, and she nodded.

"Just don't do my room, I'll do it myself," Helga replied, eating quickly so she could head off to school. She went back up to her room and grabbed her backpack and said goodbye to her parents before she hurried down to her car. Opening the door, she climbed in, throwing her bag behind her and then noticed something on the floor. A small notebook was lying on the floor, one she didn't recognize. She grabbed it but before she could look through it her phone rang.

"Hello?" she asked, starting up the car quickly and pulling out of her driveway.

"Helga?"

"Phoebe? What's going on?"

"Hurry up and get here! I'm having a crisis!" she exclaimed, looking at her watch.

"Okay, I'm leaving my house right now," Helga said, looking around and turning onto the highway to head for the high school. "What's the matter?"

"I started thinking about what you said yesterday and without meaning to, I kind of wrote a note."

"Wrote a note? What kind of note?" she asked, turning off onto the road leading to the school.

"A really stupid note asking Gerald out!" Phoebe cried, looking around the crowding halls as the first bell of the morning went off overhead.

"You wrote a note?!" Helga asked, parking her car and getting out quickly, forgetting the notebook. She grabbed her own bag and started walking towards the front doors. Phoebe was standing there, looking upset.

"I wrote a stupid note and accidentally put it in Harold's locker!"

"H-Harold?"

"Y-Yeah, I totally panicked and stuffed it in a locker when I saw him coming and realized it was Harold's!" Phoebe said, grabbing Helga's hand and leading her to the locker. Harold was busy talking to Sid and Stinky, heading for his locker and Helga looked at Phoebe.

"If I get it back, will you give it to Gerald?" she whispered.

"I'll do anything I just don't want him to read it!"

Helga left Phoebe cowering around the corner and walked up to the boys. Harold opened his locker just as Helga walked up.

"Good morning boys," she said, smiling at all three. Stinky pulled out his cell to take another picture of her as she leaned against the lockers.

"What's going on Helga?" Harold asked, Helga seeing the little pink note that Phoebe had been talking about on top of his Astronomy book.

"Nothing, just wanted to catch up," she said, as Harold grabbed his jacket, not noticing the note.

"Hey, are you going out with that guy, Jeremy?" Sid asked suddenly, trying to get into the conversation. Harold was about to close the locker when Helga moved in front of it, trying to look interested in what Sid was saying.

"Who is Jeremy?" she asked, smiling and grabbing the note before Harold could push her out of his way to close the locker.

"Don't think that just because you got hot means I am going to fall for it," Harold said, and Helga smiled at him. At least some people hadn't changed at all. She punched him in the arm.

"Oh, Harold, I thought we were friends," she said, "I was just trying to make conversation before our first class."

Helga showed Phoebe the note behind her back and she sighed in relief as the warning bell rang and Helga quickly waved and headed back down the hall, the boys whispering as she went.

"How did you do that?" Phoebe asked, taking the note and stuffing it into her pocket as they walked quickly to Chemistry together.

"A whole lot of practice. Summer in Rome would get a little boring so I would just take random things for the fun of it," Helga replied, sitting down at her desk when they reached their classroom.

"You stole?"

"Well, I'd give it back after I took it… Oh! Here comes your boy," she whispered, pointing at Gerald who just walked into the classroom, yawning loudly. He walked by the girls without noticing them, and Phoebe shook her head.

"N-No, it was a bad idea, I don't want to do it anymore!" she said, blushing brightly and fixing her glasses.

"Come on, you promised me!" Helga said, crossing her arms and looking at Gerald, sitting at his desk falling back asleep. Phoebe sighed miserably and buried her head in her arms as the last bell rang. Arnold had just come in when he spotted Helga and Phoebe. Helga was pulling out her book when the notebook she had found in her car fell on the floor. Phoebe looked up at the sound and saw the notebook.

"What is that?"

"Don't know, I found it in my car this morning," Helga said, and Arnold recognized it immediately. He must have dropped it when he was getting out of her car the night before. He froze, not knowing what to do.

"Is there a name?"

"No, doesn't look like it," Helga replied, looking through it. The notebook had no name but was filled with Arnold's innermost thoughts. He had been so tired the night before, he didn't realize that it had been missing. The teacher took her spot in the front and Arnold scrambled to get to his seat and every once in a while he would look in Helga's direction, seeing that she had tucked the notebook back under her book throughout the class. Arnold was beginning to panic because more than once Arnold had jotted down things the day before about how upsetting it was to see Helga again and if she read anything like that he was probably going to blow any chance of ever asking her out.

"Don't forget to read Chapter 1 by next class," Miss Anderson said as the bell rang for the next period and Arnold saw Helga gathering her things.

"Gerald! Come on," Arnold said, grabbing his arm and leading his friend out into the hall after Helga and Phoebe. Gerald, yawning and not sure what was happening, followed Arnold. He turned into Arnold's excuse as Arnold quickly tripped him, knocking him into Helga and Phoebe.

"Watch it!" Helga barked, dropping her bag and the notebook. Arnold quickly scooped it up into his own books and grabbed Helga's bag to give her.

"Sorry about that, it was an accident," Gerald said, having knocked down Phoebe as well. He grabbed her bag and handed it to her quickly. She blushed and thanked him, and Arnold helped Helga to her own feet and she smirked as a thought came to her.

"Hey, Phoebe, remember that note you wanted to give to Gerald?" she asked, crossing her arms as the next warning bell went off and Phoebe snapped her head at her.

"W-What?"

"The little pink one," Helga said, taking the bag Arnold offered her, "The one that you wanted me to remind you to give to Gerald?" Phoebe looked like she wanted to scream at her but time was short and Phoebe had never been late once to class and she didn't have time to debate. She quickly grabbed the note from her pocket and shoved it into Gerald's hand before grabbing Helga by the arm and hurrying down the hall. Gerald watched her go and Arnold walked up to him.

"What is it?"

Gerald shoved it in his pocket and pushed Arnold forward.

"Why'd you trip me man?" he asked, the two heading down the hall.

"Wanted to give you two an excuse to talk to each other," Arnold lied, and Gerald grinned at him.

"Whatever…"

* * *

**- Quick chapter with a little Gerald/Phoebe for everyone. Look how smooth Helga got over the years? Thanks for reading!**

**Invader Hog**


	6. Six Years Ago After the Plane Landed

**Welcome Home, Helga Pataki**

**Summary: A Side Story for the years that Helga was in Europe.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold!**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**A Side Story**

**Six Years Ago After The Plane Landed**

Helga looked around the empty airport and wondered what was going to happen. She looked over at her parents, both talking in low voices about transportation. Helga crossed her arms and sat down while they continued to talk, not noticing her. Even when Olga wasn't around, it seemed that Helga still couldn't get any attention from her own parents. She sat down and looked around the large airport, noticing that there were so many different kinds of people running around. They had landed in France and would be staying there for three weeks before they would move to Venice. Big Bob had mentioned a few times that they would probably be doing a lot of traveling while they were living in Europe. Helga could care less, she preferred living in Hillwood over everything else. She promised to take pictures, though, at the request of Phoebe.

Before Helga knew it, homesickness hit her hard in the airport and she started to think of Arnold and the others. She had made a promise to herself that she would try to move on, but she was certain it wasn't really possible. She began to think about all of the people she had left before and most of all, she thought about Arnold. She wasn't able to see him everyday and that made her miss him even more. Just the day before, when she was saying goodbye to all of her friends, someone had let it slip that she liked Arnold. Before anything could happen, she was being dragged towards the terminal and with one final goodbye.

The plane had been boring and she slept through most of the trip and woke up at France, looking around to see a place completely new. The people talked quickly in a strange language and she felt like a total outsider. She looked over to see her parents were talking with the newly arrived translator. She had been told before she went with her family that one of the things she was going to have to learn was the languages. French and Italian were going to become part of her life, so she would have to learn quickly.

Following her parents when they secured a way to get to their hotel, Helga took a good long look around at what was to become her new life. They passed many famous landmarks on their drive to the hotel, including the Eifel Tower. She took a picture for Phoebe and watched as the hotel came into view. They finally reached their room and the first thing her mother did was go right to sleep. Big Bob got a call about going and making a meeting with his investors. He left the two in the hotel and Helga became bored really quickly.

She thought about calling Phoebe but decided against it. She needed to get used to Paris before she started thinking about her old home. During her silent time, her mother sleeping peacefully in the next room, Helga stared longingly at the only piece of Arnold she had kept during the transition. Her locket had been a weight that constantly reminded her of what she left behind.

Sitting silently in the hotel room, looking out at Paris, Helga wondered if she would see everyone again. By the sound of it, Big Bob was determined to stay in Europe for a long time to expand his business. She did not have the time to think about home too long because before she knew it, she was with her family on business dinners, shopping in Paris, going on a cruise through the Caribbean and finally landing on the shores of Venice.

During this long period, Helga would every once in a while call Phoebe on the phone and tell her that she was still alive. She didn't want to make Phoebe upset by telling her all of the amazing things she was doing during her summer while every normal kid was probably playing baseball in the lot. After the long three weeks around the world, a mansion on the Grand Canal became Helga's new home. The house was pretty nice and Helga took refuge in a sizable room whenever her parents were gone. If she was lonely when they were always living together, Venice was a thousand times worse.

Sometimes during the years Olga and her husband would come by and bother Helga, but mostly she was busy being homeschooled by tutors and having to adjust to seeing her parents only a few times a year. By the time she had hit thirteen, Big Bob had moved from pagers to cell phones and his business really exploded after that. She went through her important years of growth without much of her parents around. With her personality, she used bullying the Venitian kids that would play around her house as a means to get the attetention she needed. It was like she had a little piece of Hillwood back during these excursions to mess with the children of the neighborhood.

However, by the time she reached fourteen she had become an overnight instant beauty, and things really changed. Helga hadn't noticed at all the change. Over the course of a summer in Spain with Olga, Helga grew up a whole foot and got her looks. When she returned, no one recognized her and the boys of the neighborhood began to chase her like it was a sport. She had been on dates without even knowing what they were and usually punched most of her dates in the face by the end. Phoebe wasn't very helpful in giving Helga advice as to how to get the losers off her back. Helga hadn't noticed the change in her features at all and couldn't figure out why everywhere she went people stared.

This lasted through the next two years and by her sixteenth birthday; her family had run into a major problem. The endless trips around Europe, the sudden economic crisis in America and tension between Big Bob and his stockholders, it seemed that his company was preparing to go under. He returned to Italy to be with his family and for the first time he included Helga in the discussion of what was going to happen now.

It was the morning of the discussion when Helga sat down at the large table in the front room, her parents both sitting in silence while she tried to figure out what was going on.

"Oh, don't tell me, you're getting a divorce?"

"H-Helga! No, we're not getting divorced!" Mariam exclaimed, looking shocked at her youngest.

"Then what's with the faces? What's with this family meeting?" she asked, fixing her long blonde hair.

"Helga my company took a big hit this year and we might go under unless I do a lot of cutting back," Big Bob said, sounding the most serious he ever had before. Helga looked between her parents. They were really worried and she decided that it was best to not give a snide comment or sneer. She let her parents explain that things were going to get worse before they got better. So they were asking Helga what they should do. Finally she spoke after a long silence.

"Hillwood."

Big Bob looked at his wife and then back at Helga. "Hillwood?"

"Let's go back to Hillwood. We are going easy on the money right? Let's move back to Hillwood."

A lot more discussion followed this strange conversation. Helga wasn't really certain why she suddenly wanted to go back to Hillwood but after a few days of thinking and weighing his options, Big Bob decided that moving back to the States was a lot more economical and Helga would be able to go to regular school for free. So finally the three sat down again and it was agreed. But the move was another problem the Patakis were going to have to face. After much debate, it was decided that Helga would go back to school for her junior year instead of going back halfway through her sophomore year. This would give Big Bob and Mariam time to find a house, get everything settled and the company time to get back on its feet before they left Europe. Helga waited in anticipation, trying to think of everything she had missed while she was in Europe that she would have once she got back to the States. Three grueling long months followed as Big Bob had to cut back in his company and the family's expenses. Before the summer would begin in the States, the family had procured a house and would be moving back. Before the move, however, they were delayed by Bob suddenly getting bed ridden when he was in a scooter accident. The move finally commenced two weeks before the beginning of the school year. Phoebe had been told by the two weeks because Helga was wanting to surprise everyone at school, but had to have Phoebe help get the house ready for them to move in so she told her. Phoebe held no secrets from anyone and soon the entire city seemed to know that Helga was coming back.

Helga herself was torn between excitement and nervousness. She was going to see Arnold again. She was going to see him again and already her endless nine-year-old passion was beginning to creep up on her again. Six years later and she still found herself thinking about him constantly. But then the same fears of rejection began to creep up as well and she had a bad feeling that she was going to act like a jerk around him just like she did when they were little.

Sitting in the airport to return to the States, Helga started to think about the first time she had arrived in Paris. The world she had entered never really felt like home and now she was really going back to her real home. Bob actually was excited about returning to the States and Mariam was actually a little less pale than normal. Helga sat through the plan ride and actually stared at the old locket she had always carried around with her. She had put it in a box in her room to try to forget him but every once in a while she would pull out the locket to remind herself of him.

The locket sat in her lap the entire trip over the big blue ocean and then back into her pocket when they landed. It was night in Hillwood when they finally got to their house. Phoebe left a note on their door saying that their furniture and boxes had arrived and she had let the movers in for them. Helga found refuge in her bed and the next morning she began to get ready for school that would start in a week. Bob was at the office a lot and Mariam was busy trying to unpack everything, getting to one room at a time.

Finally the moment of truth came when Helga got up the first day of school and went with Big Bob to her school, PS 129 early in the morning. She sneered properly at the principal and followed her to her first class. She was beginning to grow weary with anticipation, knowing that she was likely to meet Arnold in one of her classes. The principal showed her the first class and opened the door, going in to speak to the teacher for a moment and then she walked in.

The reception she received was far different from what she was expecting. Everyone stared at her like she was a ghost, though she didn't realize it was because of her unbelievable physical change. Her eyes fell right on Arnold and she felt her heart skip a beat. He was staring at her too, which made her suddenly feel really exposed. She crossed her arms and knew that before she could stop herself, she was going to still stay the same old Helga G. Pataki.

* * *

- **Writing this I ran straight into a wall. Like writer's block smacked me right in the face. Tried to put something down and kept coming up with random other ideas for episodes of Hey Arnold instead of what I was trying to write. Anywho, Thanks for reading!**

**Invader Hog**


	7. The Next Week Before Band Practice

**Welcome Home, Helga Pataki**

**Summary: At the end of the fifth grade, Helga moved to Italy with her family. Six years have passed and she is coming back to join her fellow PS 118 peers, but six years can really change a person.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

**The Next Week Before Band Practice…**

Arnold was standing outside of the band room when he spotted Phoebe walking towards him, carrying her flute. He waved a little and she hurried of to him.

"Hey, Arnold. What are you doing here?" she asked as she looked at the door to the band hall.

"Hey Phoebe, I was hoping I could talk to you before you went to practice," he said, rubbing his neck nervously. She smiled at him and nodded, following him to an empty hallway and leaned against the lockers. "Phoebe… I know I've kind of been avoiding Helga these past couple of days and I actually wanted to ask you for your advice."

"Really? Arnold asking me for advice? That's a thought," Phoebe said, smiling and nodding her head. She would forever remember this day in her mind. Arnold had already been through so much with trying to sort out what to do. He took what Miss Emily had said to heart but every time he was near Helga, he lost his nerve and ended up looking like a stunned idiot whenever she was around. It was finally time that he manned up and went straight to a source of information on the inner workings of Helga G. Pataki and Phoebe was it.

"I know, and usually I would be adivising myself that I was being an idiot and should just do something about my problem. But, being an idiot is preventing me from solving my problem," Arnold explained and Phoebe nodded in understanding.

"What is the problem, Arnold?" she asked, looking around the hall to see that no one was around.

"It's Helga."

"I figured as much. Then I want to propose an deal," Phoebe said, standing up straight and putting her hands on her hips. Arnold looked taken aback.

"A deal?" he repeated, looking at her with a weary eye. He didn't think that Helga would have put her up to anything mean, since Phoebe couldn't really lie to save her life. But then again, Helga had a way of getting anyone to do anything she wanted if she really wanted something done.

"Yes, if I give you advice on how to solve your girl problems, you have to help me set up a date with Gerald."

"G-Gerald?" Arnold looked confused. Phoebe sighed and crossed her arms again.

"That note I gave him, he never responded. He's been avoiding me like the plague and Helga says that I should just go up to him to ask him out, but like I'm ever going to be able to do that. So you have to help me. This is a you scratch my back, I scratch yours kind of deal." Arnold found himself smirking like he normally did and nodding.

"So what kind of advice can you give me?" Arnold asked, shaking her hand in confirmation of their agreement.

"Alright, if you want to get Helga to go out with you, all you have to do is ask her."

"That's not helpful, since every time I see her, I freak out," Arnold replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Not done," Phoebe said holding up a hand, "Since that's the problem, I'll set up the date and you just show up."

"What if she doesn't come?"

"Oh please, she'll come. Helga's liked you since we were kids. She'll come if it means getting to go on a date with you. But I'm warning you now, her attitude is a big problem."

"She didn't really seem to change over the years," Arnold replied, thinking about it to himself.

"Not really. But if she starts insulting you, she means exactly the opposite of everything she says. Its just her way of protecting herself from you rejecting her," Phoebe said, almost like a therapist. Arnold had the sudden urge to lie down and pour out his struggles to her. But he digressed back to the subject on hand.

"Okay, so since you are setting me up, I will do the same for you. Gerald is like me, totally panicking about what he should say to you. So, I will set the date up and you two will go out together," Arnold said, hearing the band beginning to warm up and Phoebe grabbed her flute from the floor.

"Alright, call me when you have the details and I'll let you know too," Phoebe said and with a nod she rushed down the hall into the band hall. Arnold didn't know if this plan was really going to work but it was better than nothing at all.

* * *

Gerald was standing outside of the front entrance of the school when Arnold found him. He was reading the pink note that Phoebe had given him for what seemed like the thousandth time since he received it. He refused to let Arnold see it, but it was obviously a request for a date. Arnold was certain that it was Helga's doing, since Phoebe was far too shy to be able to do anything on her own. That's probably why Phoebe's sudden interest in Arnold's problems was so surprising.

"Hey," Arnold said, watching Gerald jump and scramble to stuff the note in his pocket. "What's that?" he asked, pretending to not have seen it.

"What's what?" Gerald asked, kicking up his skateboard and walking towards the Boarding House with Arnold.

"That thing that you were putting in your pocket," Arnold teased, and Gerald just looked at the sky.

"Nothing. It was nothing," he replied quickly and Arnold went ahead and dropped it. He was trying to think of a way to get him and Phoebe alone together where they wouldn't be bothered by anyone they knew. He remembered the rare and few dates he had been on with just girls from school and mostly it was to get cokes or going out to get fast food. This date between Phoebe and Gerald had to be something different. So Arnold thought at this and just as they were passing a jewelry store, Gerald stopped. It belonged to Miss Alexander, recently coming to Hillwood from the south.

"Want to go in?"

"Just for a second," Gerald said as he hurried into the store. Miss Alexander was standing behind the counter, polishing a pair of diamond earrings and humming to herself. She looked up when she saw the boys entered. She was a nice southern lady with long brown hair and glasses.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Come to look at anything in particular?" she asked, smiling at them both. Gerald bee-lined straight to a display that held a beautiful ring with a droplet blue diamond in the middle. Arnold looked back at Miss Alexander.

"Good afternoon, Miss Alexander. Actually, I was wondering if you had that package for Mr. Smith yet? He wrote a letter and left it under his door the other day about it," Arnold said, looking at a diamond necklace.

"Oh, yeah," Miss Alexander said, walking through her back door and disappearing from view for a moment and then returning to the front of the store with a package.

"I am going to have it delivered tomorrow," she said as she re-entered the shop, carrying a clipboard, "So tell Mr. Smith that it will be on time."

"Thanks," Arnold replied, looking back over his shoulder at Gerald.

"How much is this ring?" Gerald asked, pointing to the ring he had been looking at. Miss Alexander set down her clipboard and walked over to see the ring. The sign had fallen among the lesser rings and she replaced it. A good fifty thousand dollars stared back at Gerald and he nearly had a heart attack. Arnold smiled and without realizing it, glanced at the clipboard to notice another order. A foreign name that Arnold did not recognize was sending a diamond necklace to Helga G. Pataki, a name he could never forget. He looked away quickly when Miss Alexander returned to his side and smiled at him.

"I think I just broke your little friend's heart," she said, looking at the now depressed Gerald.

"Probably. He's got girl problems," Arnold said, leaning against the counter to try and get another look at the clipboard but Miss Alexander picked it up and put it on the back table against the wall, out of his perview.

"Well, I have the same problems, but with men," she replied, returning to working on the earrings she was cleaning.

"Miss Alexander?" Arnold asked, watching Gerald take a quick picture of the ring with his camera phone, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Arnold, whatever you need," she replied, looking up and pushing her glasses up her nose, "What's up?"

"I have been kind of having girl problems too and I'm working on them but I just wanted your honest opinion," Arnold said, certain that more advice from girls would be helpful when dealing with Helga.

"Shoot," she replied, setting her chin on her folded hands.

"Well, there is this girl I haven't seen in years that I was convinced was just a friend, suddenly showed up and she's like gorgeous! Now I am like a stumbling idiot around her and every guy in school is drooling over her. She's probably had a million offers to go out on dates and I don't feel like I'm good enough," Arnold said, again feeling like he should be lying down for a session. It was strangely nice to be getting advice from someone else besides his family for a change. Miss Alexander mulled over what he said and smiled.

"Come back tomorrow morning before you go to school," she replied, seeing Gerald heading towards the door.

"Come on, Arnold," Gerald called and before Arnold could ask why she was being so mysterious about it, Arnold was pulled by his arm out of the shop. He followed Gerald all the way to the Boarding House and was curious as to why Miss Alexander had asked him to come back. But he had no time to think about it before he was in the confines of the Boarding House and the loud antics of his strange grandparents.

Arnold followed Miss Alexander's instructions and got up earlier in the morning that he normally did. He rode his bike to her shop and stopped in front of it, looking around to see most of the street was still asleep. Miss Alexander was standing inside and when she spotted him, she waved. Arnold hopped off of his bike and entered the store, waving back at her.

"Hey Arnold, come on in," she said when he opened the door a little and looked in to see that only half of the lights were on. He walked all of the way in and smiled at her shyly, still not sure why he was there so early.

"What's with the early meeting, Miss Alexander?" he asked, seeing that she was wrapping up something in a box.

"You wanted girl advice so I had you come when your friend wasn't here. I had a few things to finish up before I opened the store anyway," she said, showing him the box she was preparing. Arnold walked up to the counter and waited patiently for her to speak. She finished with the box and set it aside before giving a loud sigh and smiling brightly at him.

"Arnold, I wanted to tell you that there is nothing for me to tell you," she said simply and Arnold looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Sweetie, you don't need anyone else's advice but you do need to take a step back for a second. You say that this girl is someone you knew for the longest time, then she was gone. She just came back and she's beautiful. Before when you knew her you were never affected but now you are because she's pretty. Why don't you talk to her like she's the girl you used to know? Talk to her like the person she is, not the person she looks like."

Arnold stared at Miss Alexander for a long moment, thinking about what she had said. He suddenly nodded his head and headed out of the shop at a run.

"Thanks Miss Alexander! I'll talk to you later!"

"Bye Arnold. Good Luck."

* * *

**- Another chapter up. Came up with it after having hit my wall. Decided that Arnold needs to take some action and so here he is. Miss Alexander is another original character that will probably never be mentioned again but helped in moving the plot along. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Thanks for reading!**

**Invader Hog**


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